1

•••

1 month ago

[Lyari Sage]

Anxiety.

It was the only thing that kept Lyari Sage going as she drove through tollgate exits at the E3 well past Dasmariñas. She was anxious to get to her destination.

At the moment, she was still in the outskirts south of Manila, capital of the country and the most populated one at that.

The trip to Tagaytay isn't planned in the least, it was a last minute decision on her part after that brief meeting with the rest of the architects on the firm she's working at.

A drastic change of plans after Vladimir hinted at the possible chance of Sue Ledesma taking over her new project by the following week. Sue was her competitor in the female department, they get along just fine, no matter how their job always pits them against each other when it came to getting new clients.

Her rival had yet to know she was planning to meet up with the client named Chase Romero tonight, because ironically it may be her only advantage in this.

With the looming uncertainty in her career, and the fact that she was also famished and lonely, it's not really hard for her to keep a serious face.

Distress clings to her like a friend in these times.

She glanced at her face on the rearview mirror on instinct to examine the direction of her thoughts. There was minimal makeup in there, less than usual- and practical for the prospect of the long drive ahead of her.

God, I look like a zombie, she thought fleetingly.

The eyes that stared back at her for a few seconds in the rearview were two chocolate brown eyes deeply bloodshot from lack of sleep, while her gray sweater looked like it had been slept on the previous night.

All the same, Lyari didn't care, as she was too hungry to even dwell on her rugged appearance.

Besides, the very brief way in which she absently looked at her reflection was a calculated move, done in a force of habit because she was wary of looking away from the road in front of her for fear of incurring any possibility of small accidents on the road.

She was alone in her car, with Lauv's song blasting from the car's speakers and the prospect of a potentially disastrous trip if everything doesn't go according to plan. She hated it when that happens.

Some drivers up ahead were honking at each other, probably in a hurry to reach south before the day ends, just like her.

It was in that position when she found herself suddenly contemplating how she got there in the first place.

6 hours earlier

Lyari woke up.

Before everything else.

The sound of the alarm on her phone underneath the blanket was like a ceremony that morning.

In a speed borne of familiarity, her hand snatched the device from under the covers then turned it off with a vehement tap on the screen.

6:00 am. Her time in at work was at 9.

With a yawn, she rose from the bed and padded to the kitchen which comprised of a single long white granite counter island and a couple of white stools. The tall grey fridge was to the right and behind the white brick wall of the kitchen lay the hall to the bathroom.

The tiny place was basically her studio with just enough space spared to accommodate her needs, located in a moderate apartment building at Paseo Heights just across Salcedo Park in Makati. She stood in the middle of it all, looking around at the corners, knickknacks and furnitures she came to call home over the past three years.

There was nothing remarkable about it, aside from the fact that it was always cluttered with books and vellums all the time. The rent may be high according to the standards of living in a bustling capital, but this was her haven, and the only place she could call hers.

Maybe it was sheer stupidity, but she knew from a young age that choosing to live in a safer area was a priority in the Metro with all the crime rates blowing up every day.

While coffee from her mother brewed in the small pot, she paid her social accounts a visit on her phone.

Her boss had posted a picture on Instagram with the mayor of Manila at a banquet hall, her office mates were out partying last night, and a friend from college was welcoming her newborn baby to the world on Facebook. Just a bunch of reminders for her to get a life of her own.

Among other extraneous messages, there was an email from the supposed client which came earlier that morning, announcing about a meeting which was to take place soon with the assigned contractor of their firm. It didn't say anything about a location, but Lyari knew Mr Chaves had the key to that piece of information.

She showered and dressed in her usual corporate attire, a tailored gray pantsuit.

Her leather case at the sofa was prepared next, as well as the car keys on the night stand which she grabbed before heading out the door.

26 years old, three years out of college internships and here she was already stuck in the rat race of the big cities. Lyari didn't know what otherwise means.

She would go to work; stay up later than yesterday, arguing with her co-workers, then go back to that small flat she calls home. Sometimes she works from the sanctuary of her home, and it was fine since it kept her occupied and busy.

She liked the routine, so long as it distracted her from the hollowness within.

The firm office

Not long ago, Lyari would have tried to beat the traffic. However these days, she felt she was way past that; her only consolation was to wake up early and not get stuck during rush hour.

As she got in the elevators in the basement parking area, it was empty save for another architect who went by the name Yp Ibañez, currently leaning in the corner. Another dandy with pasty skin whom she had the misfortune of going to work with. He always thought he could charm every female clients out there.

His relaxed frame and well rested face was an indication he had taken some time off too in the holidays, and he appears to be in a particularly sunny mood today. He nodded at her and said "Sage."

"Morning," was her curt reply. She grasped her phone, trying to look busy to avoid any further conversation.

"Sick party last night, eh. Don't you think?"

"Huh?" Lyari deadpanned, throwing him a side glance.

"The major client's after-party. Every single one of us was invited as I remember. Didn't you come?"

"Guess I didn't get the memo."

"What a shame, Sage."

"Why? Not everyone wants to be there; technically I wasn't part of it anyway."

"Oh right, I should have known," he said knowingly, "you are not the type to appreciate your peers' achievements. Miss Lyari Sage, all work and no play."

She glared at him. "Please, don't pretend like you know me, Ibañez."

"Hm, not saying I do, talks around here just gives me that impression," he said, giving her the typical smirk he normally uses with the prospective females of their department.

Mentally, she was thinking of ways to wipe that smirk off.

"I think it's better if you keep your impressions to yourself," she couldn't help but mutter.

"What?"

"Didn't see you as the type to believe in gossips."

Yp shrugged. "I'm many things."

Yeah, not capable of keeping his mouth shut was one of those things.

Just then, the elevator doors opened to the main floor of the architectural firm and she was the first to get out, with Yp close behind.

"Hey, Yp. You got plans for lunch later?" Sue greeted him, seemingly to appear out of nowhere.

"Miss Ledesma, I don't think I have. Why, you planning to invite me somewhere?" Yp asked, his ridiculous voice rising just a few octaves at the sight of Sue.

Sue giggled. "Of course, why do you think I asked?"

"If that is the case then it should be on me. If you'll allow me to be the gentle man that I am for once, Miss Ledesma?"

"Mr Ibañez, I don't believe I would live long enough to hear you say that."

Their weird laughter rang out in the span of the hallways.

Lyari ignored them, but it wasn't hard to listen in when they were practically flirting behind her.

After the meeting

"Tell Miss Sage to come see me at my office at once; I should like a word and an explanation about that contract," Vladimir Chaves was saying to his secretary's desk, his formidable figure slightly hunched generally away from Lyari's direction.

He didn't see her coming towards them. Only when he straightened and was about to head for the hallway then he spotted her, a slight figure blending into the monochrome walls.

"Miss Sage," he addressed her with the telltale signs of his annoyance on his tone.

"You wanted to see me, sir?"

"Right," he rolled his eyes, not sure if the gesture suited a middle-aged man like him, "in my office, now."

"Okay, after you," she said as politely as she could.

Vladimir led the way to the adjoining room where his office lay. The doors admitting their figures were then closed and the discussion which would eventually change her fate had begun, the reason she was taking that short road trip across the country to a not so unfamiliar destination.

•••